Clarizen Blog

Best practices for managing IT requests

Managing IT requests has never been easy, but the challenge grows greater every year as companies add new software, new devices and new business processes. A typical IT help desk is now expected to provide support for desktop and laptop computers, mobile devices, cloud-based software, online collaboration tools and information security solutions, just to name a few. Without thoughtful planning and the right tools, an IT department can quickly find itself overwhelmed by the constant influx of phone calls and online tickets. The strategies listed below represent today’s best practices for IT request management and resolution, regardless of the size or industry of the company.

Have the Right Team in Place

IT success begins with having the right people behind the desk. Every organization should ensure that its IT department is adequately staffed, and that team members have access to the training and support they’ll need to do their jobs. When IT team members are confident in their abilities and have adequate time to complete their tasks, the positive effects will be felt across the entire organization.

Use the Right Tools

Even a team of IT superstars will struggle if they don’t have an advanced request management tool to help them track and prioritize their assignments. Clarizen’s ticket and case management solution for IT teams helps ensure that each ticket contains the information a team member will need in order to assess and resolve the issue. Clarizen also provides a wide range of tools to help team members collaborate on solutions and keep track of their assignments and priorities, and generates automatic notifications so that the requesting user is kept up to date on the status of his or her request.

Stick to the Process

To ensure that critical needs get addressed without slipping through the cracks, an IT help desk should insist that all requests are submitted using a formal process. While submitting help desk tickets was often a painful experience for users in the past, cloud-based solutions like Clarizen provide simple email- or HTML-based submission processes that make it easy for users to describe their problems and submit a formal request. Using a formal process also helps prioritize tickets and identify widespread issues that may need special attention.

Stay Centralized

Just as users should follow a formal process for submitting IT requests, IT team members should follow a formal process for assessing and resolving their assigned tickets. Successful IT departments strongly discourage employees from saving work on local devices or from exchanging important documents outside of the ticket management system. Clarizen’s cloud-based project management software and ticket management tools provide a centralized location for all requests and supporting documentation, so that even remote employees can complete their work without straying from department standards.